People have been asking me how I'm feeling about a current scandal regarding a popular mega-church pastor's indiscretions - sad would be the word. It's remarkable that we still feel shock when a popular figure goes down. It's an indicator of how much hope people still place in leaders to represent the faith, especially if they're cool and blessed with a charism of communication. We still eat that stuff up, because we are spoon fed celebrity culture from childhood. We can't break our addiction to projecting our hopes for the faith onto these people, or living it vicariously through them, and in the end many of them are not able to bear that weight. That’s not an excuse for abusive behaviour, people make harmful choices, there must be justice.
The whole thing points us back to why it might be important to take Lent seriously. Whether you're a celebrity pastor or a very average pew-sitter with no one asking for your autograph, dedicating some attention to the way of the cross will never exhaust its efficacy. Amongst other things, it asks us to walk the road with humility; to remind ourselves regularly that we are very susceptible to becoming intoxicated with people's admiration; and if people start believing everything we say, run, and fast.
Lent is not without grace. Indeed everything about the examined life must lead back to the mercy of God in Christ, who might be the only one who can bear our indiscretions without turning them into a new constellation of judgement and hurt. Grace is not a salve that gets poured onto our situations when a solution is needed, it is the air we breathe. It is the substance of God’s presence amongst us empowering us to endure the scandalous, heal the shame, and work together in God’s strength for the coming of the kingdom. GS